My Wife and I had a opportunity to go and visit San Francisco and Vanessa agreed to put us up during our adventure. Many thanks to her and Justin for making our trip possible.
I had also bought a new camera, not just for this trip but because my other camera just sucked and my wife and I wanted a better camera to help us document our life.
On our first day we visited Golden Gate Park. Truly beautiful landscaping, my pictures would not have done it justice, but, here is one picture; more novel than anything, because I was playing with my camera.
I took this at about 2 meters and thought it was pretty awesome I could get that shot.
We also saw this oddity and I thought I had to include it. This is called "The Dreamer" by Pepe Ozan. Click on it to learn more. It is really neat we first saw it from the second floor of the DeYoung Art Museum in Golden Gate park. I had to get a better look at this pink (or purple) head that was rising out of the park.
We then went and saw the Golden Gate Bridge. None of my pictures are really worth seeing from the bridge. And the one picture that we asked a fellow tourist to take of my wife and I, I managed to close my eyes for. Never Trust a stranger to take a good picture.The next day we were on our way down route one. The views of the Pacific Ocean and landscape are absolutely superb.
This is a picture of my first time touching the Pacific Ocean.
For more pictures of our trip down the California Coast click on the link called my collection of picture.
We drove all the way down to Big Sur and ate some really good food at "the Fisherman's Grotto" in Monterey and "the Forest and Forge" in Carmel.
From here we were off to see Yosemite. I had decided that I had to see Yosemite while I was out in California because I was not sure if I would ever be there again.
Accessing the park was part of the adventure there are not very many roads into the park in an effort I am sure to preserve the natural Beauty but there was an amazing reminder of natures power because we had to wait at a 15 minute traffic light as traffic was routed onto a one lane road (to carry both directions of traffic) because of a land slide that had completely taken out part of route 140.
Yosemite is truly Awesome!!
Simply looking up at Cathedral Rock or El Capitan is humbling and awe inspiring at the same time. I wish now that I could have had more time but our whirl wind tour brought us first into the park valley where we had nice walk and just took in the power of it all then because we did not have enough time we drove to the highest point you can drive to at the top of glacier point.
These next two shots are from the top of Glacier point at the Vernal Falls. The only falls that were left running this time of year because of lack of rain.
These next two shots are from the top of Glacier point at the Vernal Falls. The only falls that were left running this time of year because of lack of rain.
This first picture I zoomed in as far as I could .
Then to show just how much zoom that was I zoomed all the way back out.
Then to show just how much zoom that was I zoomed all the way back out.
I was really impressed with my camera which I was experimenting with the entire trip.After Glacier Point I felt I had to go and visit Hetch Hetchy. This is now the source of most of San Francisco's water due to the dam that was placed across the valley in the early 1900's John Muir (one of the fathers of the naturalist movement in the country) fought this dam and said that Hetch Hetchy was one of the most beautiful places on earth. I would have to agree it would have been absolutly amazing before the dam. After they dammed Hetch Hetchy it is claimed that John Muir was so heart broken he died. My picture does not show the beauty of this valley but it is a link to a site that will tell you the history. I can only imagine the 4 water falls three would have been in view from where I took the picture and the 4th would have been where the damn was placed 80+ feet below where I was standing. The valley floor below this filled with wildflowers.
It is heart breaking what we do in the name of progress.
That night we drove home from this truly amazing national park in the pitch blackness of north eastern California. I am not sure I wanted to see what the cliffs actually looked like, and how close we were to a precipitous drop. And if you want to experience an unbeleivable road drive route 120 from Yosemite to San Francisco there is a section that looks like intestines on Google Maps.
The next day was spent at Fisherman's wharf in SF. What Day would have been complete in San Francisco without having seen the Seal Lion's in the "natural" habitat. I have to admit they are neat.
We ended the day with a evening tour of Alcatraz Penitentiary. It was our anniversary and I thought that this picture would be appropriate.
The Alcatraz tour was fun but what I really loved was the views of the bay and the city as dusk set in.
This was our last day in California and Vanessa and Justin went with Marika and I to see the Winchester Mystery house. I have to agree with Vanessa she was a Crazy old Rich bat with nothing better to do.
This was a picture of the second stor door to no where. I kept imagining what the servants used to do to the new guys in the house. "Oh take the second door on the left and look out for the first step." But just to point it out in the lower left hand corner of this picture is Vanessa taking a picture of the same door.I wish the the flight home had not been monumental but as it turns out we were a little worried we were not going to make it home to our pup (who had been staying with her brother for the week). At the last minutes of boarding we were bumped up to first class. That was the life after a week of travel and taking in everything we could we were not subjected to the cramped quarters of economy class, and instead could kick out feet out and recline our seat without guilt and take a nice long nap on our mid night trip across country and home.
Thanks for reading
